Cougar Family May Die Because of Government Trappers

Cougars, also known as mountain lions and pumas, are magnificent predators who typify wildness, They are villified because on occasion they attack humans, but these attacks are extremely rare. Nonetheless, cougar-human encounters make for sensational headlines. I've met cougars very up close and personal three times - close encounters of the lion kind - and am still here to write this story. They freely roam around my home that is located within their living room, and I've chosen to coexist with them. I'm the intruder here and there's no reason why they should leave or be removed.

Now, trappers from Wyoming Fish and Game have removed the mother of two kittens despite the fact that the kittens are still dependent on her for food and their survival. The family was living in their natural home range on the edge of Jackson, Wyoming (where people had been feeding deer) and there had been no problem with their being there at all. Apparently someone complained and Wyoming Fish and Game went out and trapped and removed mom.

You can do something about this horrific and heartless situation. Please contact Tim Fuchs (tim.fuchs@wyo.gov) or Mike Boyce (michael.boyce@wyo.gov) at Wyoming Game and Fish Department and ask them to release the cougar mother immediately so she can find her kittens (307-733-2321). Another petition can be found here.

This trapping of a mother lion is wrong on so many levels. First off, the mother was providing for herself and kittens and showed prey preference for deer. A new lion will move into the territory, and may not be as good a neighbor. It is impossible to assure the safety of every human on earth. Make a requirement that every group in the park have at least one cannister of Bear Spray, and every living creature will be safer.

If WFG wanted to capture the kittens, they would have left the deer cache alone, hoping the kittens would return to feed. That is normal lion behavior.

Logan and Sweanor did a study in New Mexico wherein researchers in groups of 1 to 8 approached lions. In many cases they got as close as 6 feet(!) before the lion moved on. For some reason,in 172 approaches, none of the researchers were attacked or injured. I number a half dozen cougar researchers among my acquaintances, all have encountered lions at close range unexpectedly, with no harm to either species.

A study in Washington State about cougars living on the Wildland-Urban Interface found that the cats spent about 20% of their time on the urban side. That percentage has held in other studies, too. We had a radio-collared cat that spent small amounts of time in an area with a school and couple acre horse-properties as well as deer. No one knew he was there, except the researchers.

WF&G should really try to move out of the nineteenth century in their understanding of Puma concolor. When people complain of proximity to cougars, that is a an opportunity for education, not relocation.

Trophic scientists are telling us that we need these apex predators to maintain a livable biosphere. Yellowstone has come back thanks to wolves. How many visitors to YNP have been killed or attacked by wolves? (None would be the best guess.) WFG is blind to the realities in their own backyard. Perhaps an email to the tourism office saying that Yellowstone is loosing its appeal because WFG is so callous in other wildlife areas. Dollars and neither science nor environment is a driving factor with these people. The US is big on economic sanctions, let's use them.

It was brought to our attention that your agency has trapped and removed a mother cougar from her habitat and her cubs without sufficient cause. Why would a state wildlife agency, charged with protection of our wildlife and their habitats, do such a thing?

Please respond with the reasoning behind this action; why you felt this was an acceptable action. If you have not yet corrected this apparent error (or killed the mother) we implore you to release her immediately where she was taken from.

Even if you felt you had just cause for removing this mother, to KNOWINGLY leave behind two cubs to perish is absolutely unacceptable, irresponsible and unprofessional. It is 2012 and this is not what the public expects from a state wildlife agency today, nor is it sound wildlife management or leadership. Social empathy for animals is increasing; the stress you have caused these animals is inappropriate.